Follow the crazy adventures of an Alabama cyclist taking on the Race Across America in 2015.

Dauphin Island Ride

Yesterday I took two of my programming students to the University of South Alabama just west of Mobile for a programming competition. The competition involves a 5-hour session where we cannot make any contact at all with the students. What is a biking professor to do for those 5 hours? Well, let’s see, I’ll go for a bike ride! Here’s a topocreator.com map of the route I took from the university down to the coast and across a 4 mile long bridge.

I started out heading due south on Hillcrest Road which was surprisingly hilly with some 5, 6, and 7% grades. It was a very wide 4 lane road, but there was a bit of traffic. Eventually, I made my way down to Carol Plantation Rd which took me for the next 14 miles south towards the coast. This road had much less traffic, but it was a narrower 2 lane road with a speed limit of 55mph. The road was very straight so most cars passed on the opposite of the road. I had a pretty strong side-headwind to battle so my pace hovered right around 20mph. It was very windy once I made it to the bridge. The middle of the bridge rose up very sharply with a maximum grade of 7%. Just to the right of the white line was about 18 inches of smooth, debris-free shoulder which allowed me to ride the bridge without being in traffic and without worrying about getting a flat tire. The actual shoulder was probably 6 feet wide, but it was quite debris-strewn past that 18 inch mark. It didn’t matter much though because there was hardly any traffic.

Dauphin Island itself was a great place to ride with low speed limits, and wide smooth roads. I rode to the easternmost point of the island just past the ferry which is a 45 minute trip across the bay to Fort Morgan. Unfortunately there wasn’t enough time for me to ride the ferry across, so I turned around and headed back with a strong tailwind. I was able to average much closer to 25mph for large sections of the return trip, except for the portions of the route which turned northeast since it was a strong southeasterly wind. It was an awesome change of pace from my normal riding in Birmingham.

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3 thoughts on “Dauphin Island Ride”

Brian, I consider you one of the greatest! I have a backpack and a place to go.
The most responsible use of a bicycle is from A to B. Thanks for helping making it COOL to do so.
Thanks again for your participation in the TDC!
We saw you doing 25MPH in the headwind the day before you left for the DEEP SOUTH. Happy trails and the best to Kristine and the kids.

Thanks! If I have to choose between riding and driving, riding is definitely going to win every time — the end result of that is that I ride almost everywhere I go around Birmingham and love every minute of it.

That is a nice route I will attest to.
Having ridden it as the first leg of Mobile to St. George Island, last year (June 2008).
Very nice campsites every nite: Dauphin Is. campground-Fort Pickens-Greyton Beach.
Vaya con Cyclos -mc